Speaker 1: Hunting for Answers is a production of the Black Effect
Speaker 1: Podcast Network and iHeartRadio. Welcome to Hunting for Answers, a
Speaker 1: true crime podcast. I'm your host Hunter, and Today's case
Speaker 1: takes us way back to September tenth, nineteen seventy one,
Speaker 1: and centers around a twenty two year old civil rights
Speaker 1: activist and trailblazer. According to some accounts, she accepted a
Speaker 1: ride from a stranger, while other sources suggest she was
Speaker 1: abducted while waiting for a bus on her way to work.
Speaker 2: She also happened to be the first black.
Speaker 1: Homecoming queen at a predominantly white university in the South,
Speaker 1: and her death remains unsolved after more than fifty years.
Speaker 1: This is the story of Lynn u Zan. Lynn Cecilia
Speaker 1: Uzan was born on October eleventh, nineteen forty, in Galveston County, Texas,
Speaker 1: to Ida A. Boudreau Uzanne and Wilbur Thurkield Uzanne, Senior.
Speaker 1: By nineteen sixty eight, Lynn had become one of the
Speaker 1: first black students admitted into the University of Houston or
Speaker 1: U eight. With a bright smile and fierce determination, Lynn
Speaker 1: wasn't just another student, She was a revolutionary. While studying journalism.
Speaker 1: She co founded the African American Studies program at UH
Speaker 1: and helped establish the Shape Community Center in nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 1: She was also a charter member of Alpha Kappa Alpha
Speaker 1: sorority and even played.
Speaker 2: In the university's marching band.
Speaker 1: But Lynn's activism went well beyond campus activities. She had
Speaker 1: even been arrested a few times for demonstrating all of
Speaker 1: this during the civil rights era. November nineteen sixty eight,
Speaker 1: the University of Houston Astrodome, in a moment that shocked
Speaker 1: the nation, Lynn Yuzan was crowned the first African American
Speaker 1: Homecoming queen at a predominantly white university in the South.
Speaker 1: She beat five white candidates in a victory that sent
Speaker 1: shockwaves through the segregated South. The shock that she was
Speaker 1: actually named it was fantastic, recalled her friend Jean Law,
Speaker 1: who was there that night. The Daily Cougar newspaper called
Speaker 1: her election a symbol representing uh's defiance of the wall
Speaker 1: of prejudice, but not everyone was celebrating. Lynn's crown wasn't
Speaker 1: just a tiara. It was a statement, a declaration that
Speaker 1: change was coming to the AMA in South. She used
Speaker 1: her platform to fight for social justice, leading rap sessions
Speaker 1: and presenting demands to the university president that included things
Speaker 1: like an African American studies program, more black administrators and instructors,
Speaker 1: increased financial aid, and better wages for maintenance workers. There
Speaker 1: were other blacks who felt as I did, and who
Speaker 1: were facing the same problems I was. By organizing into
Speaker 1: a group, we were able to make our problems known.
Speaker 1: Lynn once told The Houston Chronicle her activism made her
Speaker 1: beloved by some and despised by others. September tenth, nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy one, Houston, Texas, it was a rainy day in Lynn,
Speaker 1: now twenty two years old and a recent graduate of
Speaker 1: Uhe was walking to her job when the rain started.
Speaker 1: According to some accounts, a stranger offered her a ride.
Speaker 1: In that split second decision to get out of the rain,
Speaker 1: Lind's fate was sealed.
Speaker 2: However, other reports say she was abducted.
Speaker 1: Nonetheless, whatever happened would leave a family devastated, a community outraged,
Speaker 1: and questions that remain unanswered till this day. On that morning,
Speaker 1: a Houston police car was struck by a nineteen seventy
Speaker 1: one Chevrolet saidan driven by a twenty six year old
Speaker 1: black man named Leo Jackson Junior. When officers approached the vehicle,
Speaker 1: they found Lynn Uzanne in the back seat, stabbed six
Speaker 1: times in fighting for her life. She was rushed to
Speaker 1: the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Jackson claimed that
Speaker 1: the hysterical Linn had attacked him and stabbed herself, and
Speaker 1: that he was rushing her to the hospital when he
Speaker 1: crashed into the police car. However, the evidence told a
Speaker 1: different story. The medical examiner's report was damning. Lynn had
Speaker 1: been stabbed multiple times in the back, wounds that could
Speaker 1: not have possibly been self inflicted. In Leo Jackson Junior
Speaker 1: wasn't just a good samaritan trying to help. He had
Speaker 1: a lengthy criminal record, with fourteen prior arrests for sexual
Speaker 1: and other forms of assault and armed robbery. The evidence
Speaker 1: became overwhelming. The case seemed open and shut, But in
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy two, after a trial that shocked the community,
Speaker 1: a jury acquitted ly A Jackson Junior of murder. How
Speaker 1: does a man with all of those arrests get acquitted
Speaker 1: of murdering a civil rights leader when the evidence clearly
Speaker 1: showed she was stabbed in the back. Lynn's friends and
Speaker 1: family were devastated. Her close friend Jeanne had said, it
Speaker 1: was a shock. It still is a shock when the
Speaker 1: word came back. We were just in total disbelief, tragic,
Speaker 1: very sad. Many in the community believe that racism played
Speaker 1: a role in the verdict. Here was a young black
Speaker 1: woman who had dared to break barriers, to challenge the
Speaker 1: status quo, and to wear a crown that some felt
Speaker 1: she didn't deserve. After the acquittal, no one else was
Speaker 1: ever charged in connection with Lynn Muzanne's death. The case
Speaker 1: remains officially unsolved, a cold case that has haunted Houston
Speaker 1: for more than five decades. Lynn's death certificate simply states
Speaker 1: she was stabbed in the back. Her niece, Andrea Uzanne,
Speaker 1: says the family has never gotten closure. Her death left
Speaker 1: an indelible mark, Andrea said, but then so did her life.
Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy six, five years after her death, the
Speaker 1: University of Houston dedicated Lynn Uzanne Park, a four point
Speaker 1: six acre park in the center of campus where diverse
Speaker 1: groups gather, just as Lynn would have wanted. In twenty eighteen,
Speaker 1: nearly fifty years after she helped create it, the university
Speaker 1: finally approved a bachelor's degree in African American studies, the
Speaker 1: program that l fought to establish. Lynn Uzanne was so
Speaker 1: much more than just a homecoming queen. She was a journalist, activist, advocate, organizer,
Speaker 1: and a trailblazer who helped change the face of higher
Speaker 1: education in the South. She wanted to bring social justice
Speaker 1: not just to the UH campus, but to the surrounding
Speaker 1: communities and beyond. Today, more than fifty years later, Lynn
Speaker 1: Yuzan's murder remains unsolved. The Houston Police Department lists her
Speaker 1: case as legally open, though no active investigation is currently
Speaker 1: under way. However, in twenty thirteen, Leo Jackson, the man
Speaker 1: who was acquitit of her murder, had passed away, taking
Speaker 1: away any secrets he might have had along with him.
Speaker 1: Lynn's case leaves a list of haunting questions. Was she
Speaker 1: targeted because of her activism her crown, did her pioneering
Speaker 1: spirit make her enemies?
Speaker 2: And will her family ever truly get the justice they deserve.
Speaker 1: One thing is for sure, lynn Uzanne wrote down walls
Speaker 1: and open doors that can never be closed again. Her
Speaker 1: death remains unsolved, but her impact is undeniable. My thoughts
Speaker 1: and prayers are with the family of lynn Uzanne anyone
Speaker 1: with information about her case to contact the Houston Police Department.
Speaker 1: Their contact information can be found in the description box below.
Speaker 1: As we close out this episode, don't forget to collect
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Speaker 1: Answers on YouTube and follow us on Instagram and TikTok
Speaker 1: for more true crime updates. Thank you so much for
Speaker 1: joining us.
Speaker 2: On another episode. Until next time.
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